second round @ tagaytay

after months (?) of planning & exchanging e-mails, we finally settled on a date to for a long-standing return to tagaytay. last time we went was in the middle of a strong typhoon when some (understandably so) canceled due to floods & power outtages. this time, there were a few first-timers (jap, mitch, richard & dino), a few from last time who couldn't make it (jim, notty) and some who still couldn't make it (reggie, tm). going out friday night and sleeping in around 230am is a no-no specially if you are going to meet friends riding with you at 630am. i did manage to get to the meeting place probably 5 mins after 630 but eric, as usual, arrived late. there was idle chatter during the short drive to mcdonald's where we're supposed to meet up with the rest of the gang.

the drive to tagaytay was fast. everyone was kind of curious about dino since it was his first time to hang out with the group. annie, in her usual inquisitive self, asked him about his gf and sort of cornered him into admitting that they're not together anymore. tsk tsk tsk, for the record dino, i did not say anything about it to anyone. when we got to the tagaytay resthouse, it was as magnificent as last time we were there - it was a perfect place to get away, a haven of sorts. we did our obligatory market shopping with shanda showing us how it was done that we kidded her that she's now the undisputed "palengke" queen. going to the wet market was surreal and i don't remember the last time i went in one. what remains vivid is how i used to go with mom to the wet market when i was very young - this before the advent & popularity of airconditioned supermarkets. meats, vegetables, fruits and beer - all set!

shanda's passion for cooking was evident during lunch time and jap doing her best tried to salvage the rice she was cooking to no avail. we ended up with jollibee rice + grilled tilapia, bangus and dada's adobo - yum! the rest of the afternoon was naptime for some and watching reruns of grey's anatomy's season 1. we decided to try going for badminton & swimming but the place where we were supposed to go was closed - bummer! we ended up hanging out at cliffhouse in tagaytay and was reminded how awesome it was to be out of the city, cool temp & all. dinner came at 9pm, again courtesy of shanda's cooking prowess and we started drinking probably around 10pm starting off with a bottle of red wine and san mig light.

"destiny" is a card game jim introduced to us last time we were in tagaytay. its actually a perfect game to get people drunk as the turnaround is quite fast, "casualties" even faster. by the end of the night, it was clear annie was the winner. dino richard & eric were buzzed from the game. i was buzzed just drinking. everyone else seemed fine. at past 3am, sleep felt like the best thing in the world.

imee, out of guilt likely, came out to tagaytay so early in the morning that meeting up with her pretty groggy seemed like punishment for the night before. breakfast of leftovers felt nourishing and it was obvious that morning that some were in better shape than the rest. we hanged out a bit more, took more pictures before we had to hurriedly leave around 1pm for some other engagements. i, for one, had to meet up with my groupmates for a school presentation all the way to rockwell.

all in all, it was a great weekend hanging out with friends. these are good people and i'm quite lucky with friends.

planet earth

i was curious to see why bbc's "planet earth" was on the best show list on yahoo tv and after seeing the first of eleven episodes i finally understood why. this documentary is unbelievable! the shots, both aerial and in the ground was spectacular. even showing the changing of the seasons were done well that seeing this episode makes you realize how rich and magnificent the earth really is. i was really blown away after watching the first episode and i can't wait to watch the next ten episodes. if you are a fan of discovery or national geographic, try watching this series - i think its a must-have for your dvd collection. ang galing sobra!

and the bloodshed begins

its funny that even when you're expecting the worse scenario happening, you find out there's something to top that. i already expected questions about the ideas we threw in for our first strama case but as soon as easy started questioning the first group, i knew we, and everyone else, were screwed. everybody were grilled with the fundamental question "what's your basis?" i guess there's a lesson prof easy wanted to impart on everyone that night and despite looking foolishly dumb in front of the class, it made me realize the importance of understanding what you are reading. admittedly, i take most of what the textbook says for granted. it falls right smack on my short term memory that sometimes you try to memorize it just to be able to parrot it during recitation or exams. i reluctantly admitted by saying "i don't know" and "i don't recall." when he asked me questions i honestly couldn't remember any answer to. they weren't really hard, but the answers weren't at the top of my head. its becoming clear that there's really a lot of work required under easy so i'm really trying to figure out how to survive. i did ask about the big blue and he suggested i try to work on another company because a lot of people used it already. its a big problem - not having a company to start working on.

and yeah, maybe i asked for it but i was elected class president. everybody told me its a tough job but i guess there's no turning back now. and the bloodshed begins!

ps : i really really need to catch up on sleep. i've been sleep-deprived for the past 4 days my eyebags feels like they're over the weight limit. hahaha

ties to the past

catching up with CL the past few days on his exciting expat assignmet in thailand made me realize how much i appreciate what technology we have today. i remember how RR (an old friend from high school) and i tried keeping in touch by occasionally sending mail & greeting cards when they left for the states. we would have permanently drifted apart if not for reconnecting via email and ym and even friendster. its actually nice to be able to hear where life has taken people i know from high school (16-20 yrs back). its sad to hear that even some of them had passed away. everytime i hear something about somebody from the old days brings back memories of how life back in high school and even college were that simple. it was fun and there weren't so much responsibilities weighing us down. now that we're in our 30's, i'm pretty sure a lot of them have families already, some more successful than other and some have moved out of the philippines. i barely remember some of them even when their names are mentioned. i'm thankful though for the chance to reconnect - even through e-mail.

taking a beating

by some twist of fate (believe me it wasn't intentional) last time, i lost my sony ericsson P900 celfone at the office. i had already been checking out the then newly released Treo 650 so i managed to justify buying that as a replacement. By and far, the Treo 650 has arguably been the best fone i had from the nokia's and ericsson's i owned before. it was 2k short of the cost of the P900 when i bought it but it was definitely better. interface was simple and easy to use and the keypad is easy on the texting. with additional programs, it was easy to turn it into a video player and now has a much slicker mp3 player (ptunes). battery life is so much better than the P900 and it can edit word and excel files. it has some limitations of course, like the camera is not even in the 1MP level and texting is limited to 10 people at one time. its a bit bulky too but what can you expect if you try to cram a keyboard and everything else in one gadget right?

recently though my fone has been taking a beating. dropped it a couple of times and like true testament to its durability, the screen did not break and it still works perfectly. there are noticeable scratches and dents though on its shell. its really tempting to try and buy those nice new fones that are flooding the market but i'm not too keen on spending on a new fone. its not even because i don't have the means to buy one, it just doesn't feel like its the right thing to do. and its not really part of my "wish list" right now.

ahhh tempting ... that N95 ... gets my oohss and ahhhs ...

nothing lasts forever - maroon 5

It is so easy to see
Dysfunction between you and me
We must free up these tired souls
Before the sadness kills us both

I tried and tried to let you know
I love you but I'm letting go
It may not last but I don't know
Just don't know

If you don't know
Then you can't care
And you show up
But you're not there
But I'm waiting
And you want to
Still afraid that I will desert you

Everyday
With every word whispered we get more far away
The distance between us makes it so hard to stay
But nothing last forever, but be honest babe
It hurts but it may be the only way

A bed that's warm with memories
Can heal us temporarily
The misbehaving all he makes
The ditch between us so damn deep

Built a wall around my heart
Never let it fall apart
Strangely I wish secretly
It won't fall down while I'm asleep

If you don't know
Then you can't care
And you show up
But you're not there
But I'm waiting
And you want to
Still afraid that I will desert you, babe

Everyday
With every word whispered we get more far away
The distance between us makes it so hard to stay
But nothing last forever, but be honest babe
It hurts but it may be the only way

But we have not hit the ground
Doesn't mean we're not still falling, oh..
I want so bad to pick you up
But you're still too reluctant to accept my help
What a shame I hope you find somewhere to place the blame
But until then the fact remains

Everyday
With every word whispered we get more far away
The distance between us makes it so hard to stay
Nothing last forever, but be honest babe
It hurts but it may be the only way

continuing trials

i had to bring my sister back again to the hospital because she was having abdominal pains & was vomiting again. i thought after her operation a few months ago that things will start going back to normal but like the doctor said there will be a few pains. this is her second time in the hospital this year after spending quite a few weeks last year. that period was physically, emotionally and financially draining. she didn't have a good medical plan from her company then so both mom & i had to share the expenses. things would probably be not that difficult if i had at least a brother i could rely on and a dependable father. while i know they won't let any harm come to my nephew, i'm not so comfortable leaving him with them. so for the next few days, i'd have to try again to balance work, taking care of my nephew, household chores and school's starting on monday. its really a crash-course in growing up and a realization of my obligation to my family. it probably would have been easier if my dad had a steady income or my brother have work but looking at how lazy my brother is, i don't think he has plans of working anymore. i honestly don't know how people like him, who seemingly don't have any ambition and desire to move forward, find purpose in life. i probably would have taken pity if he was at least humble about not contributing financially, but it feels most of the time that we owe him something. he could contribute to the household chores but he's super lazy (and i'm not exaggerating) and lives as if he had servants to clean up after him. to top it all, even if you ask him to do something, its like speaking to the wall and he takes offense about it. i feel bad about it but i don't feel any affection towards him anymore.

i hope things get better soon. as always, i trust God will help us through.

stuff i wanna spend on

what they say is true. there really are so many stuff you'd want to spend on but money isn't limitless even if you have savings. i guess what's important is that even if you can't buy everything at the same time, you can save little by little until you have enough money to cross them out in your checklist. this is my checklist, and i'll repost it everytime i manage to checkout one of the items.

[ ] repaint of ford lynx
[ ] upgrade sound system of crv
[ ] new mags+wheels for crv (i'm not sure though if i really want this)
[ ] new seat covers for crv
[ ] new seat covers for ford lynx
[ ] iphone (next year pa naman ito)
[ ] 19" (or 20", or 21") LCD monitor
[ ] replace my p4 desktop with a core2duo powered desktop
[ ] dslr camera (if i ever find the time to pursue photography)
[ ] new gas range (gettin' ready for culinary arts)

hmmm this will be my initial list which i suppose will get longer and some of these are probably stuff that i will lose interest in. i guess most of these are quite expensive but listing them now at least lets me have something to look forward to. maybe i can write sa "wish ko lang" ... hahahaha

will i feel the same?

recalling one time i was driving with a friend in one of my trips, we talked about the current state of our lives including the responsibilities we had to our families. it was when we started talking about what we want for the future that my friend broke down and admitted that there were times she felt trapped and obligated to fulfill her duties to her family. my heart goes out to her because while i believe she has a right to live out her own life, we filipinos are just wired that way. we were brought up to take care of our families, and when we are faced with that responsibility, turning our backs is never an option. you just do it.

sometime i try to convince myself than i won't let myself be put into that same position. but seeing how things are today, those who can, will and should help out. its not such a hard decision to help out now since i've sort of managed to straighten out my finances so that most of the time, i am able to save up. i guess i've wised up over the last couple of years, which turned out to be a blessing after my sister got hospitalized for quite some time towards the latter part of 2006. i'm starting to re-build my savings and so far, so good. i guess as long as i earn reasonably well then it won't feel like a financial burden.

having my nephew i guess as the one who benefits from all this is what makes the responsibility easier to carry. i don't feel obligated because i love my nephew so much. he brings so much joy to our family that seeing him smile is a reward in itself.

one step back & one more reason to consider leaving

what has been happening to intel lately? i used to think it was at the forefront among companies of looking after the needs of their people but that seems to be taking a backseat with recent policy changes that majority doesn't see any significant benefits attached to it. in fact, i personally think it is a severe blow to productivity.

• they first removed dial-up connections. so for most people, being able to log-in to check or send urgent e-mails was no longer possible. supposedly, broadband/dsl subscription was a cheaper alternative and it was faster and employees can reimburse it. now dsl is not really a basic household necessity in the philippines (for the vast majority), so it is actually pretty pricey (the P1,995 is the recommended package).
• telecommuting at least 2x/week was an alternative and if you had broadband, then "working from home" was possible. in the case of our group, telecommuting more than that was allowed seeing that my work for example does not require a great deal of being in the factory. meetings start as early as 5 or 6am and its not possible to be able to go to the factory that early. recent policy changes dictates that telecommuting will be limited to 1x/week, and intel will not reimburse broadband charges anymore.
• the intent of the policy is to improve interaction & networking for employees which is noble in a sense except that it does not really benefit those who do not need to be in the factory all the time or who work with people outside the factory. as i've seen in intel through the years, there's almost never an exception to any policy even if you have valid arguments. personally, i think this is just an easy way out to avoid having additional discussions. there's a pretend "we'll hear your inputs." kind of speech but you know for a fact they already made up their minds and that your inputs were already dead before you've had a chance to say it.
• so if i can't reimburse my internet, it just means i won't be able to attend any more meetings or send emails outside of the office. telecommuting will not be an option, nor flexible hours since i won't have internet access to log in anyway.

some might say this arrangement is really a luxury, rather than a benefit but working in different timezones makes this set-up more of a necessity. i think i would have to tell my manager that realistically, i don't think i'd be successful managing my project (which is US-based) given these new working conditions. its really indeed a step-back for intel and probably one more reason why its nearing time to jump ship.

gettin' ready

the gloom of school is upon me ... two more weeks and school starts. its not that i completely dread it because the thought of finishing is reward enough and just means i can move on to other interests (like cooking, photography?) or more serious stuff (like setting up a business, updating my resume, or finding a new employer?). its weird that everytime i try to write something about a certain topic, my mind wanders off and i end up having to write about something different.

i'm getting ready for school and based from friends, first day will probably ask what's my favorite book. i can't very well say the harry potter books can't i? or some other fictional novel i've been trying to find time to read over the past month. so i'm trying to rush reading this leadership book my manager gave me last time i was in arizona. its "the leadership enginer" by noel m. tichy. i should have read it as soon as i got it but reading has been something i haven't been that passionate about for a time now. i don't even like reading my textbooks at school so this isn't any different. i'm going to try and finish all 400-pages of the book in the next couple of weeks so that at the very least i try and make a good impression - even a pretend one. hahaha

i need to start browsing through arlene's strama paper which she was kind enough to send me as reference. just get a feel of what kind of information i should re-gather for inclusion in my strama paper. the thought of not having a clue what to tackle for strama is mortifying. i think figuring that out wins half the battle already because it sets a direction on what to write, and what to research for. ahhh, i need to rack my brains soon.

ok, one more minute before my phone con.

purple fingernail

its election time again, can you believe it? time fly by so fast that sometimes i ask myself whether the past years have been something worthy to be proud of. my nephew will be four this august. i'm nearing the finish line on my graduate studies. ten years at intel this september. i think i've done quite good for myself and my family the past years.

we've been registered in mandaluyong for as long as we can vote. it probably was quite fun before when we were still kids but these days, i find it a long drive from paranaque. the only good thing driving during a special non-working holiday is that traffic is virtually non-existent.
it wasn't hard to locate our precint because what's good about voting in mandaluyong is that they send you your precint number a week in advance. voting was pretty fast, we were out of there 20-30mins. i only voted for six senators since i couldn't find anybody else worth electing. how would those celebrities fare in the elections is anybody's guess but i'm sure didn't vote for any of them. i don't have anything against them, but please take at least a public administration course before going for public office.

i think the person putting the ink got excited because he put way too much purple ink on my finger that for a while it looked like my nail died. it still looks frighteningly ugly but hopefully a trip to the nail salon can bring it back to its clean, shiny self.

the price of traveling

i decided i'd either wing it or die trying, and with a much resolve walked the corridors of school to submit my course approval form. i realized that this term is going to be a challenge and the signs seem to be telling me upfront to get ready. not only was the strama class & professor i was planning to take full already, it meant i had to take the professor known for heavy work, weekly recitations and tons of reading materials. but like my friend annie said, it must be fate - and so i half-heartedly asked them to enroll me in that class instead. the second sign told me i'd have to work my ass off to pull-off a 4 and a 3.5 in the class i am enrolling this term, its not impossible but its going to be difficult. and even if i get those grades, i'll be 0.02 shy away from a medal and maybe i will have to enroll in an additional elective, and get a 4 at that to make it. digitech screwed up my chances and i can't blame the professor because i missed 2 meetings and a quiz because i had to travel for work. bummer i guess but sh*t happens. the price of traveling.

it would have been nice to graduate with a medal. let's see what else i can do to get that.

season finale

going back to the gym

after more than 4 months away from the gym (blame it on the US trips and laziness), i decided to go back to the gym yesterday. it took all of my willpower to convince myself i needed to go since part of me was already saying "tomorrow na lang." i'm starting with this "body for life" program after juan gave me the book during my last trip. it sounds simple enough with the exercises and the food but i soon found out that not being in the gym for a long time makes it harder to do the reps. i'm following the exercise routine for this program and its a good thing that they have the excel tables and all kinds of resources to plan out my routine. the food though needs more planning - i've switched to brown rice already though, even bought a small rice cooker for it. i've also started to trim down my meal portions - moving down to filipino rather than american servings. i am also recently addicted to yoghurt, plain or fruit-flavored. i gobble-up 2 servings daily - sarap e.

when i was doing the exercises at the gym, i forgot how some of the exercises work so improvised on some. by the time i was done, my arms felt like lead. and today, they really hurt bad - and i do mean bad. its a good thing cardio is every other day ... and just 20mins at that. tomorrow is lower body workout so my arms & upper body gets to rest. i realized that you have to mix weight training with cardio if you want to burn fat faster. cardio won't do it by itself. you have to do weights (light if you don't want to bulk up) to tone up. ah, this is really a challenge - a very hard one at that.

should i enroll?

i got the class offerings for next term and i'm still deciding whether i should enroll or not. i only have two subjects + the oral comprehensive exam (oce) before i graduate. i am 80% sure i'll probably enroll on my last supply chain subject so that when i graduate, i'd have a "major in supply chain" on my diploma. its the strategic management (strama) that's throwing me off right now. do i really have the time? i think i do. maybe i've gotten used to the comfort of taking things slow and not burdening myself too much with office & school work that makes it hard to make this decision. right now, i'd guess i'm the only one who's left in school - most of my friends have graduated or will be graduating already. that's not really a factor and i'm not rushing but i definitely want to get it over with.

submission of the course approval form is on saturday, may 12. i have 5 days to make a decision. why is it so hard to make this decision?

are you really that much better?

i had a sort of long catching up by phone with Amazing Aloha (AA) yesterday mainly just idle chitchat initially until we sort of veered into the recent conversations during a visiting friend's dinner. unfortunately, i was still in the US that time so i wasn't able to join the get together. the discussions talked about another friends recent controversial farewell letter and how they had stuff to say about it. personally, if i was just a curious bystander, i would have viewed the letter as immature and unprofessional and i, in my right mind, would probably send something like that to but a few good friends. but not one standing on the sidelines, i have to say that probably was just a means of getting back, of lashing out because when you feel you've been maligned, sometimes sanity escapes you and you do things, in this case write things, you probably meant but not meaning to share. we all have our opinions and our sentiments about what happened but i don't think its proper to talk about these things openly in public specially if there are dissenting parties.

i am beginning to realize that there's probably very few straight people (guys at that) that can really accept you when you're different. if you find out the truth, does it make that person a lesser human being just because he or she is different? its insulting that they make such a big fuss about another person's choices as if that determines what kind of person he or she is. hello? wake up! are you really that much better in life right now?

so for those of you who think you're better - you can laugh and make fun of me all you want - at the end of the day, i'm the one who's laughing at you. you just have to open your eyes, see where you are and where i am right now, and you'd know you've been punk'd.

fatness monster at the airport

here i am at the airport ... again. this time i'm going to take the arduous journey back home and i'm hoping that this trip won't have the same delays i've had the last two times i was here. the airport is seemingly quiet right now, not busy like most airports are. i see some eye candies and i can't help but get a second look. the past three weeks has been mostly a blur, what with all the traveling and sightseeing i did with bel and maricar. i'm not saying it wasn't fun, actually it was so much fun though it was tiring. it has been a bit of a struggle being here in arizona, workwise that is. and though i did manage to deliver some stuff, it still feels like i've slacked off. this is the problem with doing projects, there isn't enough critical deadlines to beat - you mostly sail through it. the only yardstick to which i will be measured are two things : (1) is whether i will be able to deliver the project; and (2) whether the customers will like it. while i do LOVE the freedom my job provides, i don't like to slack off but i've been doing it nonetheless because maybe working hard for the last eight years has taken its toll. hopefully, the changes in responsibility will help bring the fire again.

i'm officially a fatness monster. and while i haven't really checked the scales lately, i can see in the mirror how plump my cheeks have become. my tummy has started showing again so i don't look as fab as i was back in december. major bummer. when i get back to manila, its time to pay the price. i'm going to have to swear off rice for a while, try to get back into my weight training program and start taking my hydroxycut. ok, so maybe taking the hydroxycut isn't the greatest thing to do, but well i'm in need of some drastic measures.

me & the mall is such a bad, bad combination. there were only two items on my list yesterday but i ended up with 3 pairs of jeans and a cute long-sleeved shirt ... and instead of one, i bought mom two naturalizer shoes. i kind of felt guilty that i could splurge buying so many clothes, even $100 shoes and i can't spend as much for her. so ok, i'm not the poster boy right now for saving money and spending money wisely but i'm following this new adage "live fully." and that includes doing things that make you happy. hahaha

i can't wait to get back home. 1 1/2 hours to LA. 3 1/2 hours layover in LA. 12+ hours to HK. 2 hours layover in HK. 1 1/2 hours to Manila. oh yeah, is that fun or what.

note : i was going to post this while i was still at the phoenix skyharbor airport but for some reason i kept dropping off the wireless. that was probably 18-20 hours ago. right now, i am at the business lounge of cathay pacific where wireless is stable. just a 2-hour flight and i'll be home. yay.

a trip worth remembering

we went to vegas during the second week of our US trip with me behind the wheel of our rented kia sorento suv. the only thing keeping me awake was a can of "rockstar" energy drink, after too much partying the night before in scottsdale. the 6 hour drive breezed through quite fine with occasional restroom stops and some architectural sightseeing at hoover dam. lots of pictures snapped here and there. our day in vegas went by quickly after having a feast at the alladin buffet and some touring of bellagio and caesar's palace, we were beat from all of the walking. it was surprising to bump into the tensuan family with the strip being that long and with that many people but you know pinoys --- "we find each other. wherever." there were more pictures taken during our leisurely walk that night with bel & car exchanging ohh's & ahh's at how lovely the strip seemed with all the lights and sounds. vegas is a truly a sight to behold, it lives up to its reputation as sin city and the city that never sleeps. i wish though next time i'm here, that there'd be less hotel viewing and more partying.

after vegas week, the days seemed pretty much to breeze through with the face-to-face (what we really came for) coming full-blown beginning wednesday and lasting through half of friday. we did go through another round of teambuilding & org stuff with new leadership and all. like all these face-to-face that deals with this kind of stuff, we were pretty much bored during the 2nd day that the after-office get together (dinner & hanging out) was a welcome change. we went to "rawhide" which is a western-themed amusement town with shows, carriage & train rides and animals and an old-fashioned restaurant where we had our dinner. we were treated to some western "delicacies" which did not freak me out at the very least - first taste of rattlesnake (eww!) and rocky mountain oysters (which turned out to be not seafood at all but bull testicles, double eww!) - believe me, they weren't that bad at all. we watched some shows and hanged out a little, even trying out the carriage ride (hmmm we wondered if it was that bumpy in the olden days). it was fun to be outside of work with people you work with all the time.

at the end of the face-to-face week, bel & i left phoenix to go to california. it was a 5 hour drive that wasn't as bad as it seemed and we managed to reach ron & rudy's house around 10pm or so. the house was awesome - it was big & spacious and well decorated. r&r also had 2 bmw's and an accura suv, ugh!

rudy brough bel & i to disney around 9am the following day. we got in for free since rudy was an employee of disney. i'd have to say, disney was fantastic - i really felt like a kid again. i'm right now excited to bring my nephew to hk disneyland this august for his 4th birthday. we were able to enjoy star tours, bobsleds, space mountain, pirates of the carribbean @ disneyland and soarin' high and the big rollercoaster at california adventure. and to top it off, disney had twice the eye candy than vegas that time. we managed to buy some souvenirs @ 35% discount so we were quite happy that day. we spent sunday visiting carlo & mark at orange county. i have to say OC is so much different it leaves me speechless. we had lunch there where afterwards we went ahead and looked at the new houses/condo's (Vantis by Shea Homes) which totally blew me away. the model houses were awesome that we spent the better part of the afternoon just moving from one model house to another trying to figure out which we liked best. right there, i wish i lived in the US and could afford such a great place. truly, an american dream i wish i shared.

pictures here are posted in my multiply account. check it out at the following :
www.yuan1025.multiply.com

she's back

one of my more favorite artists is back with a new album ... american doll posse. i'm already playing the tracks from her latest album non-stop. so far my favorite tracks are digital ghost and secret spell. such a wonderful treat from a truly awesome & unique artist.

grand canyon - redux! 0408'07

holy week

i never make plans during the holy week. for me, it is a time to pay respect and remember what the Lord sacrificed for all of us. yes, i grew up catholic - and while i may not be as "religious" as i should be today, there are practices & teachings i have strong belief in. no beach, no parties, no drinking during this time for me.

jack of all trades

jetlag is a bummer.

while i slept only for an hour when i got to phoenix and drove short of 500 miles (back & forth) the grand canyon with bel & car, i was awake by 2am. where's the sandman when you need him?

i was mulling the previous days on whether i should consider buying a digital slr. it wasn't really because elmer & jona both have one already but it was a logical technological evolution from a point & shoot digital camera. i was holding back on buying one mainly because there wasn't really time to pursue photography, even as a hobby at this time. i still haven't finished graduate school (1 more subject technically but i want to major, so 2 more subjects) and i haven't even decided yet when i am going to go back. and i was already planning on taking up short culinary courses - again, not because i want to become a chef but because i enjoy cooking - period. while i was looking at some pictures the past hour though, i realized that i enjoy taking pictures of people and moments more than say landscapes, or objects, or anything artistic. i guess being technically-oriented for a long time has robbed me quite a bit of artistic talent or probably the desire to see things in a different perspective. i like the practical shots. the simple moments without so much fuss which is why i like p&s cameras a lot. i just need to capture the "memory" of the moment without the need for grandeur ... having a dslr feels like there's this pressure to turn out beautiful, artistic, wow-photos all the time. i don't think i want that.

thinking about the dslr thing made me think about what i was good at - and i couldn't think of anything i was really "great" at. sure, i was smart in school, could play volleyball, write decently, lead/manage, have some artistic talent but i was never exemplary. i think i get bored easily that i tend not to stick to doing something long enough to "master" it - maybe being an industrial engineer, or a jack-of-all-trades was fate. or maybe the reality is i have a.d.d. i really don't know but hopefully i find something that i love doing (and make a career doing it). sigh, suddenly feel like i'm not good at anything na tuloy. damn it. mumble. mumble.

ay, i realized i'm kind of good at driving ... uhmm, so delivery? hahaha
hmmm ... i type really fast too ... uhmm, so taga-type ng thesis?
double bummer!

eagle point layouts

i threw in some pictures from our eagle point resort getaway into a picture book. here are some of the pages of that book.

tax season

i finally managed to file my income tax return today 11 days ahead of the deadline. i was supposed to file it yesterday that's why i went to the makati office but i couldn't get through UBS by phone to reset my password. i couldn't remember if i sold stock options in 2006 but i finally managed to access my account today. luckily, there weren't any stock options sold in 2006 so the only additional income i had were the proceeds from the quicksale i elected for the stocks i purchased in 2006. i wish there was some way that i didn't have to pay so much on taxes. i feel bad everytime i have to surrender my hard-earned cash for taxes knowing most of it will likely go into some corrupt politician's pocket. i probably am stereotyping and that the government might really be using it to do some good ---- not! sorry for being jaded, i guess not really seeing where my taxes go leaves a bad taste in my mouth everytime i see how much they are getting.

i hate april 15.

summer fun @ eagle point (0331-0401)

it was one of those times when we just thought two weeks back that we should enjoy the summer and relax at some beach. we weren't really sure if it was going to push through having been told by those resorts we were eyeing for that they were fully booked march 31 & april 1. we were lucky though when allan said that he managed to get reservations at eagle point resort somewhere in batangas. we excitedly checked out the website and thought it was a place good enough to spend the weekend and relax.

everyone pretty much were giddy the whole week eagerly counting work days before the weekend hits. i myself was bouyed by idea of spending the weekend with great friends at the beach no less. there were a lot of e-mail exchanges talking about what we should wear, what we should bring, what time we should meet, even the motifs for the pictorials. we were already having fun just thinking about the coming weekend.

i was up around 2am and realized that a bunch of us pretty much were either still up (from partying or whatever) or woke up excitedly ahead of schedule. call time was between 430-500am since we wanted to get a headstart of the day with eagle point being about 3 hours away. pretty much everyone made it at 5am - its like a record and everyone managed to avoid some serious tonguelashing & slapping - bummer! breakfast was at mcdonald's along petron south super hi-way where we noticed a large number of people that early - seems, everyone have plans of spending summer in some beach or resort. the ride was pretty much uneventful - we talked, bitched about r (not trixy's "r"), laughed uncontrollably in between thousand calorie krispy kremes and some water. surprisingly we didn't miss any turns and the map was pretty helpful during the trip.

when we got at the drop off point, we were trying to figure out how to slip in both our alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages since we kind of brought a lot (of the latter) to avoid any of the steep corkage fees. we crammed them in every nook & corner of our bags and allan later on realized that putting too much weight on his kenneth cole bag proves to be disastrous. since we were quite early, we couldn't check-in yet and decided to go straight to sepoc island via boat. sepoc island was quite nice - the water was clean, the sand was great and there weren't really a lot of people to crowd the beach area. we rented a cottage so we had a place to stow our bags and shhhh, take our snucked-in beverages without worrying about paying the corkage fees. there were hammocks and kayaks and life vests and beach volleyball - there was a lot of things we could do but we opted to wading in the cool waters, taking our pictures, taking more pictures, and more pictures and doing some kayaking on the side. kayaking is quite fun and i didn't mind being under the sun that long. we put so much sunblock i guess that we were pretty confident we weren't going to burn under the hot sun. it wasn't surprising that towards the end of the day (and after a bottle of sangria - yum!), we all (except acs) looked sunkissed.

the dinner was filling when we got back and the pictures during the sunset was quite nice. we spent the better portion of the night just chillin' on our veranda with a glass of cabernet or mudslide on one hand and the other digging for chips & some salsa. there wasn't really a need for any more bonding session since we (jaa, tv, ac & acs) pretty much have built a lasting friendship already. we decided to call it a day early that night, each of us being tired from the day and from the previous night. it wasn't hard to get some sleep with the aircon being full-blast and being weary from the day pretty much knocked everyone out.

morning. breakfast was fantastic. yummy food makes me weak so i ate more than i should - oh well! we slept a bit right after breakfast before we went swimming with the fish & baby sharks and then later on went to the kiddie pool and played model while the camera snapped some "for our eyes only" pictures. ok ok, nothing requiring parental guidance. we quite dreaded the time when we all had to get out of the pool and dress up for home. it meant the weekend's over and our uber fun time at the beach was coming to a close. we stopped by red ribbon for lunch where surprisingly, acs told us some funny stories about the time when jps met with her 'rents.

the weekend was quite tiring but fun. it wasn't as expensive as a trip to boracay but being able to getaway from the busy city life with great friends is priceless. we're already planning our next trip - club paradise in palawan - and though it probably is months away (around aug or octoberish), i am already excited with just the thought of it.

but first, there's still a flight to arizona i need to catch this coming saturday. grand canyon. vegas. disney. its going to be fun.

click the link to view the pictures via multiply : summer fun

back at it again

mom sent me a text message monday as i was driving home telling me that my sister checked in to the hospital to get tested since she's been having severe pains in her abdomen recently. that meant i had to take care of my nephew again since my uber lazy brother will just sleep the whole day and DO NOTHING. well he did cook some food this morning but it was likely out of his own vested interest (read : he was hungry) so i don't think that counts. as expected, he slept the whole day with me working while taking care of my nephew. its not that i'm complaining because despite my nephew being really naughty at times, he is a sweet, adorable little boy. its just that i get so exhausted at night and i can't sleep well when my nephew sleeps with me because subconsciously i need to check on him throughout the night. this is why during these times, i don't really get enough sleep. suffering galore.

while driving home monday, v hitched a ride and kept me company. we talked about our lost loves in some conversations. its been a while since i talked to anyone about mcb, i don't miss mcb that much anymore but i told v that i know for certain that mcb is my one great love. its nice in a way to be able to talk about the past with no regrets - yes, i don't have any regrets meeting mcb because despite everything, i have had the best & worst times dealing with mcb. so there ...

tomorrow is focal download, i don't think i'm going to hit the target ACS and i put up. the signs aren't good but like always i'm hopeful that it remains acceptable. for some reason, looking back, i'm surprised that i'm not setting up a range from which i can say whether i will be happy with the result. i guess with all the things happening - of people ... friends moving out, rumors of closing down, somehow focal doesn't seem to be as important as it used to be. the latest good news about tv is really exciting and admittedly saddening because soon there'd be one less reason to go to the office. the only good thing i guess is that we've seemed to have grown closer being separated (JAA, TV and the rest) so it seems our friendship will survive post-company I.

i haven't decided yet when i'd be going back to school. strama + 1 elective for majoring + oce and i should be done. all my classmates/friends are either finished already or are taking their oce this term. i'm not sure yet if i can devote the time needed for strama and that's what keeping me from enrolling. but i've tentatively put august when i will reconsider enrolling so i can be done by march/april08.

i really need to update my resume. i've been procastinating doing that for months already. i've really been shortsighted lately, thinking only of two things - one is going to the beach this weekend ... and two, my upcoming US trip. yay, my boss just approved for me to travel for two weeks (instead of one). i just realized though ... i'm leaving april 7, which is the weekend after this week. good news with that trip though, it bumps up my asia miles mileage enough for up to 3 tickets to HK - the fam gets a free trip! that means we can bring my nephew to HK disney for his 4th birthday. exciting months ahead.

make your own havaianas

the evil twin sisters jona & trixy invited me to hang out at power plant in rockwell early in the morning because havaianas was having a "make your own" booth beginning today. i call these twin sisters "evil" because i was never planning on buying any new havs (having just bought 2 pairs last january and i bought a pair of gap flipflops during my US trip) but for some reason i ended up with 3 pairs - hahaha. evil temptresses! hahaha it was fun though seeing jona & trixy again, we always seem to have equal amounts of fun and serious conversations. we had some vietnamese lunch today - it wasn't that good but somehow we were thankful to not eat so much. we pretty much spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at starbucks enjoying our coffee (non-fat, no whipped cafe mocha as always) and indulging in a luscious serving of banoffee. that banoffee dessert is awesome - sinfully delicious ... damn! we're probably having dinner on saturday but trixy & i will probably go boxing tomorrow night. i need some exercise i swear.

check out my 3 new havaianas slippers above. don't they look awesome? now have to plan where to wear these expensive slippers hahaha i love my green & red havs! they'll definitely give accent to my casual jeans & shirt do!

btw, happy birthday to a very dear friend - arlene! i am so glad we have found true friends in each other and i wish you peace, happiness and love always. take care always.

Supersize Me

yes, it is about the 2003 documentary that morgan spurlock made where he dealt with the subject of obesity and fast food. the plot is simple, for 30 days he will eat nothing except what is in a mcdonald's menu and will supersize only when he is asked. he will also need to eat three meals a day (breakfast, lunch & dinner) only from mcdonald's. this may sound ridiculous but i found it kind of enlightening that he gained 17lbs in two weeks and during his mcdo-regimen, he started having liver problems, depression, anxiety and he became sluggish and tired. having grown up along with the fastfood industry, i suddenly feel like i should withdraw from eating it completely. they even did a random survey of a number of nutritionists on the question on whether one should eat fastfood and not surprisingly, most of them said one should never eat at a fastfood restaurant. in a way, how fastfood came to being is mainly to answer the call of people who are so busy that they are too tired to cook at home. i can only imagine the amount of kfc, panda express, in-n-out that i have been eaten when i was in the states for eight weeks. no wonder i gained as much as 10lbs. after this film came out, mcdonald's introduced a number of supposedly healthy salads which turned out to have the same calories as a big mac - ugh! eating healthy is a conscious choice and i dare say its very difficult (& expensive) to eat healthy when you are out or with friends.

i realized however that after staying away from the gym and gaining weight during my trip, my body aches more when i'm sitting for a long time. my legs hurt so bad after walking a lot when i went to the office. everything i'm feeling right now tells me i should go back to the gym, get my heart pumping, work out the lactic acid build-up and get in shape.

jet lagged & weekend laziness

this is the part i hate when traveling to & from the other side of the world - the jet lag. for the past few days, i've been sleeping really early in the evening only to wake up around midnight (and no, i am not an "aswang" hahaha) - my body still thinks its in the Arizona timezone (midnight is like 9am there, time to be at work). it will probably take me a few more days before i get acclimated to this timezone - i desperately need some gym time soon. there's nothing better than a tiring workout to get myself off the jet lag faster.

i've spent the better part of my weekend in bed just watching shows i've downloaded. there's really a lot of it still that i haven't seen, add to the so many dvd's i've had on queue since a year ago. i had fun meeting up with allan and trixy for dinner last friday. we ate at conti's and i had a really awesome baked salmon (yum!) before we stopped for coffee at starbucks. i was pretty much in bed around midnight thinking "this is good, my body clock can reset itself." only to find out two hours later that i was wide awake - bummer!!!

i started organizing my mp3's on the itunes in my macbook and being the OC that i am, i had to re-tag all the album covers to a higher resolution because they were quite blurry in full-screen mode. yeah, its pretty hard being OC like this (at least its not over the top) where i like everything (mp3) tagged properly with song title, artist, album, genre and album covers. if the mp3 doesn't have those, there's no way they get synchronized in my ipod. so far i've managed to tag properly almost 16GB worth of mp3s, and there's probably 60GB more left (hahaha). Harddisk space is pretty much getting limited and i will need to attend soon to backing up my TV shows to DVD. There's like a 100GB to back-up, its such a boring task to do.

Ahhh its monday today, this for me signals the start of the week and i promised myself i'll start dieting this week. being the OC that i am, i don't start anything other than a monday. i think its that whole notion that since its a new week, that is the only time i should start something new. yeah, i have my weird moments. A & T probably thought i was crazy when i told them that every morning when i take a bath to get ready for the office, i wait until the clock is in increments of 5mins - i don't start if its :03, or :21, it should be :05 or :025 ... hahahaha its just easier for me that way to assess how long it took to finish a chore.

flight gone wrong

i should have posted this a few days back but i got pretty busy working - yes, there's actually deadlines i need to work on. after seeing the film "300", i had a quick lunch, went to the office to print my online check-in confirmation and stop by gizie & larry's house. i was at the airport a bit later than i would have liked and since it was spring training (baseball) this time around, there was a long line on the check-in counters. i managed to check-in without so much fuss except that the lady told me i should balance out my luggages since my bigger luggage was 8lbs over. knowing the other bag didn't have any space left over, i decided to just shove a number of the shirts on my carry-on luggage.

i was relieved when we boarded the plane after walking a good distance since the terminal was at the far end of the airport (bummer!). i pretty much in between dozing off & waking up when i realized later on that we haven't really taken off. it turns out that we were about to take off but then a warning light came off the pilot's console and so we had to go back to the gate. they tried to troubleshoot it for about 30-45mins only to tell us that the plane wasn't flying anywhere. now, despite the setback, it was actually a relief that they caught the mechanical failure before we took off, who knows what would have happened then, right? we pretty much deplaned after the announcement and then waited for a while for them to sort it out. we were lucky that they were able to find another plane in record time and they directed us to proceed to the gate. again the terminal is at the other end of the gate where we docked - it was a freaking long walk and in flipflops, that didn't fare well with my aching feet.

we reached LA a little before 11pm and so after realizing my bags were already forwarded, i dashed off from terminal 1 to terminal 4 in a record 5mins to try and catch my 1120pm flight. i was out of breath when i got to the check-in counter and had to beg the people in line to let me go first. when i got to the counter, they told me the flight was closed but they can put me in the waiting list for the 120am flight. i went for a bite to eat and then later on managed to check-in both for my LA-HK and HK-MLA flight. Not only that, they seated me in a seat where no one was seating beside me so i had two seats. while two seats doesn't really substitute for a business class seat, it was good enough to at least have more room to stretch.

when we reached HK, i dashed to the Cathay Pacific business lounge for a quick shower. this is the part where i really like having the marco polo club card - having a shower after 14 hours feels like heaven and i managed to hydrate my already dry skin. the other good news was that when i was boarding, they said i had a change of seating and i already knew i've been upgraded to business class. and i have to say, business class seating is truly awesome. i only wish they'd give me the upgrade on a HK to LA flight instead, but hey, i'm not complaining. one more trip and i've got 3 free tickets to HK (from MLA) out of my mileage, that's reason enough to stick to this airline.

albuquerque, new mexico

these are my pics from my trip to albuquerque, new mexico two weekends back.

time to leave this town

i woke up thirsty saturday morning after spending the night with giz, larry and mindy at malee's for dinner and then acme and kashmir down in scottsdale for some drinks. i'd have to say scottsdale is abuzz with so many gorgeous people, far better than tempe i would say. we had a bottle of wine shared by three with larry having a bottle of non-alcoholic whatever (bummer!). i'd have to say i've gotten to like drinking red wine, it pairs up nicely with a juicy steak. anyway, it took me quite a while before the throbbing in my head subsided and i diligently started packing my stuff neatly. it was going to be a challenge because i knew somehow that i bought stuff more than my luggages can carry - and i haven't even bought any stuff for the fam yet. uhmm oh well, i'm good at organizing my things so pretty much at the end of the day, most of my stuff fit snugly in the luggages. i realized that the only thing holding my luggages from exploding were the strong zippers it had on it. it felt like deja vu - like last time i was here for seven weeks and i bought a lot of stuff. i had to leave my GNC whey protein since there was no way already it would fit despite that it still had like five or six servings left. ahhh, i'd have to visit GNC when i get back.

i checked out of the hotel earlier than i should have since i was planning on catching "300" before my flight. and since amc charges just 5 bucks if you watch before noon, i decided to watch the movie around 11am. the movie was visually spectacular though i'd have to say there wasn't really too much story in it as the whole plot was focused on the fighting. this is not to say that the movie wasn't great, but if i compare it to gladiator, i thought the latter at least had more story in it. after a while, i kinda grew weary of hearing gerard butler scream "spaaaarrrtttaaaannnnsss." still, i thought it was still a movie worth seeing.

my flight is still at 7pm later and its only 3pm. i decided to hangout at the office to print my online check-in confirmation. i also decided to print this book i managed to download "the celestine prophecy" which morgan asked me to read. so now i've got two books i need to finish, james redfield's "the celestine prophecy" and the extreme programming book. i've been kind of lazy to read books lately but maybe its time i started reading again if not for the enjoyment, but for the learnings instead. i'll pass by gizie's apartment later since i forgot the copy of the doctor's bill - yeah, its not enough that i paid a thousand plus dollars to the hospital but the doctor's bill is separate. what a rip-off!!! people here in america will probably just be saddled by debt if any of their family get sick.

flying again

i had to wake up early this morning to get ready for my flight to albuquerque, new mexico. flight is still at 725am but since i didn't want to get stuck in the morning I10 traffic i decided to leave sometime before 6am. after all, i just remembered i had to fill up the tank before i drop off my rental. there wasn't a lot of people on the check-in booths for southwest airlines so i breezed through it and also the security. after taking southwest airlines to portland, i decided that i like this airline better than america west. not only do i find the free-seating a plus, they at least serve snacks instead of just drinks. the flights i took were never full so i usually 3 seats all to myself.

i'm a bit excited to visit albuquerque again mostly because this time i get to spend the weekend there unlike last time when i spent two weekdays without being able to even drive around. the airport is a bit far from where intel is (rio rancho) so its going to be a test of how effectively i read mapquest. 20 mins before boarding. its just a one hour trip so its not going to be that dull.

chronicles of portland

i couldn't wait for friday to get to fly to portland and meet up with morgan, jessica and reuben. we were planning to hangout in portland from two weeks back when morgan sent out that invitation. the flight was uneventful (got delayed a bit) and i landed safely but a bit late in portland. morgan was already at the airport when i came out and he gave me a big hug before we proceeded to the baggage claim area. morgan drives a big F150 and since he just moved to this part of portland a week ago, we actually had to make several u-turns before he finally figured out where his house is. the house was big and sits on 23 acres of land and morgan's room was big and comfortably fits 2 sofas aside from his bed. i got a chance to meet flo, morgan's roommate who was quite chatty (almost in a drug-induced state if i might say) which helped in a way bridge the silence. we drank our beer/ale at the roofdeck as jess pulled over the driveway with reuben. i finally got to meet jessica's husband this time.

the first night in portland was spent by first checking out the white eagle where they have me try out the spanish coffee (coffee liqueur, rum, coffee & whipped cream) while we listened to some bluegrass music. we chatted a bit with some hummus and nachos when mesh came in before we proceeded to this tapas place called collosus (?). mesh's wife (rajestri) joined us for dinner and we learned that the chitgopekars were expecting their first baby - yahoo! congratulations to mesh & rajestri!!! the sangria at this place was awesome - smooth, fruity wine that was just unbelievably good every which way i drank it. the tapas we ordered were very good too (clams, empanada, veggies, mushrooms) that we finished most of what we ordered. after dinner, we checked out some bars before settling to this school-turned-bar/theatre/etc called kennedy school. this was really fascinating and weird in the sense that you have this old, history-rich place and you're chugging beer as you walk by the halls. i was pretty buzzed by the time we decided to call it a night.

saturday. snow day. it was a long drive going to breitenbush where i finally managed to see snow in all its natural, uhmm wet from the rain, glory. thankfully, jess & morgan lent me winter clothes that kept me warm enough to appreciate playing in the snow. we couldn't really find a steep enough slope to sled on so what the guys did instead was to tie a rope and the sled at the back of the pick-up truck and drag it along the snow. it was a big adrenaline rush when i tried it. we also had a snowball fight - yeah, real life snowball fight. we were wet from the rain and after a couple of driving to find a slope for sledding, we gave up and decided to go to the hotsprings instead. after we managed to find morgan's friend who works at the hotsprings, we were on our way to dip into the hot pools (there were a number of them) and the pools we walked to were packed with literally naked people, yes - you heard me - naked. while we walked by, most of them seemed like they were sizing us up from head to toe - can't say i blame them, we were definitely fresh meat (translation : uber gorgeous) - hahaha. we settled at the spiral pools instead where we stayed for an hour or so - in our bathing suits (conservative? naah ... would have i done it naked? hmmm probably. maybe.). it was surreal being soaked in a hot tub while there were snow all around - it even started to snow for real right after.

when we got back to portland, we showered and changed and decided to go see jujuba play at the goodfoot. jujuba is a 12-member band that delivers funky, danceable style of nigerian juju and afrobeat music. it was different but it was quite good music to dance to - and after a few rounds of beers and reuben starting up with the cocktails - crown royale+coke and gin tonic, we were quite drunk soon after. jessica was the designated driver and so that gave reuben, morgan and i permission to drink non-stop. i think i was half-asleep during the drive home - half-sleeping & waking to tap out the newspaper morgan kept poking at me.

we woke up sunday quite late and decided to get breakfast at this place called genie's where i had really good eggs benedict and huckleberry pancakes. the wait for breakfast was worth it since the food was great. over breakfast, we talked about our plans for the future, what we want to do with our lives and this is the part i felt like we have really bonded. after our meal, we went to downtown portland soon after where i finally managed to buy my macbook -no sales tax and intel discount. that was sweet. we met with jessica's brother chris afterwards where we got to hangout, drink some more nitro (pale), play some pool (to which i sucked so badly) before deciding to have some mini-burgers, tater tots and hummus. jessica and reuben left that night back to seattle.

i managed to try and be a potter kid this time - trying in a few for the sake of it. pottery barn it seems is legal in oregon owing it to its medicinal benefits - oh yeah! we watched some of morgan's roomies play some tunes in the basement but i turned in quite early later on seeing i had an early flight in the morning. i almost felt sorry having to wake up morgan so early to drive me to the airport but well, i had no choice.

i was leaving portland with a heavy heart - missing already how great the last two days, three nights have been.

you can also view these pictures here : hanging out in portland

finding good friends at the other side of the globe

i started working with jessica when during the infamous IE reorganization a couple of years back and we've developed a friendship having worked on numerous projects. i met morgan during part of the systems explore efforts last year only but it didn't take long for us to hit if off seeing he was already friends with jessica and mindy. morgan's invitation to come to portland came two weeks prior and it wasn't a hard decision to purchase a $218 roundtrip ticket to portland seeing that jess and her husband reuben was going to be there to spend the weekend showing me around.

i was expecting already a great time ahead but the real bonus to the trip was really getting to know the real jessica and morgan - the "them" outside of work, the "them" that you get to talk to about everything and anything under the sun (or the lack of it in portland). people can and will surprise you if you have the time to talk to them. i never realized morgan was philosophical, that he was into books (yes, i will check out the Celestine Prophecy) and that he knew or even heard of the gnostic gospels. i knew he was well traveled having spent a good year roaming around asia and parts of europe and it was really a part of his life i was quite intrigued with. one-way ticket to asia, selling all of his properties back here in the US - basically leaving your life behind and venturing into the unknown. that is truly remarkable and i don't know if that is something i will be able to do - in more ways than one, i like having a security blanket. can i live life as simple as he does, not crave for so much clothes, and so much of the good stuff? i probably should and then maybe i can finally save enough money to go and travel around europe like i always wanted to.

jessica, nothing much to say about her except i love her. she's one of the few people in the group i'd trust with everything. she's exceptionally chatty which makes for good conversation, can be highly opionionated and somewhat bitchy if you don't give her her morning dose of caffeine. in portland, it was the first time i met jessica's husband, reuben, and they make for a lovely & attractive pair. Reuben is goodlooking and jessica has always been quite fetching.

i hope both jessica and morgan have a trip to manila soon so i can take them out, bring them to boracay or something. jessica can get a good, cheap pampering at the foot/nail spa and both of them can get a great full-body massage at sole-2-sole. it will be fun to hang out with them in boracay.

this weekend made me realize that i've found really good friends on the other side of the globe, not just acquiantances but real friends. i don't expect to see them that often or hear everything that's happening in their lives but i know that when next we see each other, the friendship will always be there.

mac and me

and so finally, after years of drooling not being able to buy it (cause of the processor and yes, it was hard to afford it), i finally managed to get my hands on my first ever apple computer. yes, i am now the proud owner of a 2GHz, 80GB HDD, 1GB RAM, Superdrive, 13" widescreen white macbook.

i got my macbook in oregon over the weekend where there is no sales tax so i get the full 6% intel discount. thanks to jessica for dissuading me on buying an ipod shuffle (which i think i should be able to get with a little cash using my credit card points - teehee!). haven't really used it that much yet except a few tinkering here & there. i'll probably get a wireless mighty mouse tomorrow since i don't really like using trackpads. i already know what my first project is - create a picturebook for my nephew and have it printed. that will be really nice since he doesn't really have a lot of printed pictures right now.

so right now, i have the best of both worlds ... pc for my desktop and work laptop ... mac to manage my digital life - and then some!

living independently

for the longest time, i've wanted to try living independently off my family. the desire is not because i don't like living with them (ok? sometimes they do get into my nerves) but because i want to see how its like not having to depend on people to cook your food, pay the bills, wash the dishes and stuff - you know what i mean. at 32, i've never really done any of that - and by that i mean for an extended period of time. this trip changes all that, and sure its just 1 week more than the longest trip i had before but the difference this time is i chose to stay at an apartment-type lodging complete with kitchen, washer and dryer, dvd players, the whole gamut of a bachelor living his own life and earning his own keep. in a way its not really the full experience i've had in mind - not having to pay the electric bill and the rent but hey i do budget my allowance, do the groceries, wash and dry my clothes, wash the dishes, the pots and pseudo-clean the house (yes, they provide housekeeping). but the thing i like the most is cooking and most turn out to just the way they should be and sometimes i learn a lesson or two on how to make it better the next time i make it. while i don't really make everything from scratch - kind of hard seeing i don't really have all of the ingredients and hey, i work here too (did i tell you that?) that i use prepared sauces and mixes already on some of the dishes.

so far i know how to do sinigang, nilaga, beef with brocolli in oyster sauce, baked salmon with mayo & onion sprinkles, menudo (without the liver eh), afritada, adobo - these at least take some time to prepare. those that sort of quickies (due to the prepared sauces) include black pepper chicken, lemon chicken, and orange fish fillet. i should be able to try some more filipino dishes when i get back to manila. i probably should try kare-kare (but i'd have to find a good recipe) - i'll ask cindy for her mom's recipe, they make a mean kare-kare. its not hard to cook here since i can immediately wash everything in running, hot or warm water.

this is living the life. but there are people i do miss back home.

five weeks & counting

i can't believe its been five weeks already since i came here to the US. time really moves fast whether you want it to or not. this is like a tug-of-war because during the weekday when i need to work, i can't wait for friday to come, dread the weekend will be over, and then wake up the next week wanting for my trip to last longer. there's three more weeks left in my trip and next weekend i'm going to portland, then the next week i'd have to do my shopping. crap, i can't believe i haven't bought any shoes yet in the last five weeks - this is a first, yay. i guess i'm trying not to squander so much of my savings since i really want to buy a mac computer. i did splurge a bit already by buying a $100 bose earphones (which i do not regret a bit, its awesome).

work has been busy the last few weeks. after i got that "scolding" from nurse betty, it sort of woke me up just a little bit from my "work slumber." so i've been pretty active after that incident cause damn if i let my good name get sullied by nurse betty. its about to get busy some more in the next three weeks since there will be more discussions and a presentation i'd have to prepare. i should start planning for it really but i'm having a really lazy weekend.

i miss my friends back home - there's really no one to go out here and its too uninspiring to go to the gym by myself - hence the fat inducing stupor i've been in since i got here. the only good thing here is that i've been quite good at cooking for myself (well i've been using mixed sauces) and i think i've been quite good in cooking sinigang and nilaga (stew). i'm watching the food network right now and i just realized "wow, it'd be nice to be with someone who will cook for you." so add that to the list of traits i'd love my SO (significant other) to have.

ahhh what should i do today? i need to think of what to do, perhaps i should just go to the mall and see where that takes me. should i check out some shoes? or clothes? tempting ... but i should hold off until i get my mac. oh yeah.

valentine treat

i saw this video from the movie "love actually" from dj's multiply account. thanks for posting this. in the spirit of hearts day (though the scene is actually at christmas), i think this is one of the sweetest gestures one can make to somebody they love. whether that person belongs to somebody else. so in the spirit of this day, i love you mcb. i will always love you and i will always look back and cherish all the best times i had with you.

counting down the days ...

hearing it the bose way

the main reason i haven't been going into any of the malls of late was because i didn't want to be tempted and buy anything. i was quite proud that four weeks has passed and i have not bought a single pair of shoes - bummer right? hahaha
seeing i didn't really have anything to do today, i decided to go to az mills to .. you know, just look around. i didn't really buy anything at az mills so i decided to drop by fry's electronics which was just across the freeway. i finally managed to get the measurements of the imac 17" i've been eyeing since i got here. i'd have to check later whether i can fit it (sans the box) in may carry-on luggage (crossing my fingers here and hoping that they release Leopard before i leave).
one of the things that i've been toying around was whether to buy a logitech speaker (similar to what gizie has) or a bose ear/headphone. i knew the earphones would be something i'd be able to use more so i was settled on that. it was quite a difficult decision because the earphones were quite expensive ($100) - but what sealed the deal really was being able to try the bose speakers (tried the headphones) and hearing the difference. oh my, i am so loving these earphones right now, the sound coming out is just awesome.

i am so going to be deaf.

life & times update

hmmm its been quite a while since i last posted anything in my blog. things has just been busy with work, with going out ... just lots of stuff happening. let me see if i can remember most of what has happened the past few weeks.

• i went to Chandler Regional Hospital to get my final vaccine shot where after all the hassle of bringing the vaccine, they weren't going to use that because no doctor will administer anything that is not available in the states. bummer! it was fascinating because it was the first time i've been to a hospital in the US. anyways, i did a bit of waiting just for the medicine but luckily there wasn't a lot of folks in the ER that time. imagine, the last shot should have just cost me probably 1k in pesos, but i had to deposit $200 and call back for the final bill - not sure if that will be higher or lower than $200. well, the company is paying for it. the good news though is that they said i could drink again, so i've been getting really re-acquianted with my bud lite.
• am is here in the US so we (with GC and husband LDC) have been going out for dinner and lunch and everything else during the past week. its super pig-out fest (and yes, i am getting heavier by the day ... dammit!) from oreganos (best cookie/ice-cream dessert), cheesecake factory (best cheesecake), kc moore's (very nice salmon dinner), in-n-out (best fastfood burgers & fries hands down), kfc (uber favorite chicken), panda express (whatever, cheap but uber good orange chicken) and texas roadhouse (unbelievable bread & cinnamon butter + fall-off the bone full slab of ribs). oh well, am is leaving next week so i will start to lose weight and go to the gym - i'll try to do 5x a week. yeah, as if.
• did i say how much i love dr pepper (softdrink)? that's really the only other softdrink i drink here in the US ('course i can do diet coke and mountain dew, and yes, they still call it diet coke here). i love dr pepper!
• i recently had a 1:1 with nurse betty where i got an earful about how i am doing managing my project. let's just say she wasn't happy and i sat there listening to her diatribe. i hated that time cause i was super making pa-cute to this cutie seated at the other table and i was embarrased if the cutie heard me getting a lecture. i knew it was coming - it was just a matter of time - i was seriously slacking off not because i couldn't do the work but because i hadn't been feeling motivated this whole time. i've been having a very difficult time being creative and all that it wasn't just working for me this whole time. short to say, nurse betty screwed up my aura that day. i didn't make any excuses - there wasn't any point to so i just said "i will work on it." i wasn't used to getting scolded like that - i always made sure my work was top-notch but as rln puts it, we're all working just to get by lately. so i did adjust my approach after that - been more talkative (with sense of course) in meetings, taking the initiative to finish my overdue requirements. i'll prove to her i am as good as my reputation.
• nurse betty asked me where i want my increase for this focal - more on base pay or on eb%. it would have been great to have both but after consulting with friends, i decided i wanted it more on base pay. besides the increase probably isn't that big this year and i'm not expecting to get promoted. dammit. haaay wish wish ko lang ... hoping the increase is good enough.
• mb invited me over and stay at his 6-bedroom, 25 acre land in portland. jh was cc'd in the mail and she was coming over too with her husband. jh & i are very good friends. sigh, i really don't know if mb is flirting with me but it doesn't matter, whether he does or doesn't, i'm pretty sure i'd have a great time in portland. flirting back will just be icing on the cake.

let's keep things at that first. i would have wanted to write more details but words are starting to escape me already with today being a friday (in Az) and me getting ready for the weekend.

oh, and by the way, i've already booked a plane ticket to portland. oh yeah!

happy birthday abet

today is the birthday of a good friend. happy birthday abet!
i wish you peace, happiness and love wherever you are.
i (and everybody) miss you.

let's sit & talk a while

feeling like grown-ups, lvt & i talked about what will happen in the next two years. the conversation filled with anxiety over the seemingly unending uncertainty of our professional life. life was quite promising for the lot of us - lvt, acs and myself. our careers were on the fast lane and i think it still is or at least there's still a promise to it. being adults though complicate things a lot - there are more responsibilities to take (whether you want it or not), people to take care of and a growing list of expenses.

we've been toying with the idea of either setting up a business or venturing into something that generates additional income for all of us. lvt has started already with a home-care service thing here in az - good for her - biatch! hahaha acs, em and i doesn't really have anything concrete in place. still ideas that hopefully will come to fruition soon. i am lucky to have found real friends in acs, em and lvt. soon, if the wind blows right, we're probably going to be business partners too.

grand canyon finally! snow finally!

i finally was able to visit the grand canyon yesterday and as an added bonus, got to touch, play and shiver in the snow. yes, snow was everywhere. and it has been fairly cold here in arizona since i got here two sundays ago. the trip to the grand canyon was really an experience - there was one instance we made a wrong turn where we got stuck in knee-deep snow, had to push the car and luckily made it back to the road. we took a lot of pictures along the way (still waiting for photos from larry's camera though), even wrote our names in the snow and marveled how light the snow felt and how freakin cold it was outside.

sidebar : migs and i shopped A LOT the day before mostly from abercrombie & hollister. i so love love these stores, they're really my favorites. on the road towards getting broke.

pictures from the grand canyon posted here : grand canyon/snow

I love the Legacy!

I am so loving where i am staying for the duration of my trip. It is a fully-furnished 1-bedroom apartment complete with kitchen, washer/dryer, jacuzzi, two 27-in televisions, two dvd-players, dishwasher and cable. broadband is a bit expensive though @ $9.95+ per 24-hour block. i'm driving a PT Cruiser Convertible and with the weather right now (pretty damn cold), that's perfect (though its too cold to drive with the top down).

this is living the good life.

Hanging out with the MBA'ers

we finally were able to get together last friday (Jan 12) at shanda's place along TM Kalaw in Manila. it was dino's birthday also that day and he had to beg off going to the party because he had to go home and spend his birthday with his family. imee & i met up with him pre-party at starbucks in g4 to which i came in late having underestimated the traffic from cavite to makati. the party was fun, even though a few people were not able to come (notty, tm, jm, ron ... who else?). with the usual display of karaoke singing prowess, richard & annie entertained us throughout the night. i really miss these guys, now moreso since most of them have graduated or are on the final stretch of the MBA program. i'm the only one left ... doesn't really bother me that much since i have to prioritize work these days.

click on slide.com to view the pictures.

alternately, the pictures are also posted in the following : MBA Get-Together (Jan 12)

or go to www.yuan1025.multiply.com and click on the photo's section.

sitting here watching the world pass by

there's something about waiting in the airport that's in a way uhmmm calming, which doesn't really last that long once boredom sets in. but looking around the myriad of people from God-knows-where pass you by, i couldn't help but wonder in amazement. the airport is a melting pot of people of all ages, sex/sexual orientation, race and everything - everything is right here, in front of me. and while i marvel at this thought, i shudder at the long flight that awaits me. boredom.

hopefully, things will proceed smoothly, no hitches, no hassles. i'd stop there for fear that i might jinx it but the day has been extremely marvelous so far. i checked in conveniently (given my marco polo membership) and my manila to hongkong seat was upgraded to business class (hurrah!). and while wasting time at the business lounge, this gorgeous eye candy came in. to top it off, eye candy sat just one seat away from me in the airplane. yumminess. if you could get diabetic from excitement, i would have. yumminess again.

gotta wrap up and walk to my gate. the journey begins.

wicker park : airport scene

this is the airport scene i love so much from the movie "wicker park."

can we really end up with the one we truly love?

while flicking through cable a few days ago, i chanced upon the ending of this movie with josh hartnett. it was a scene at the airport where it seemed he reunited with a girl he loved. that scene didn't really make sense to me that time but i was glued to the ending because i really liked the song that was playing. the voice was familiar but i couldn't make who the singer was and later on during the credits i learned that the song playing was called "the scientist" by coldplay. i didn't know the title of the movie still.

coincidentally, a few days after that while exchanging emails with dj & trixy, coldplay was mentioned and i diligently squeezed in a description of the movie as well as the title of the song. turns out dj has already seen the movie and its called "wicker park." now, i've had that dvd for quite a looong time now but just hasn't found the time and interest to watch it ---- until now. i knew i missed a great film so i popped it into my dvd player and stayed there until it finished.

the movie is a love story but its told in a uniquely interesting way, that is from the different points of view of the characters. and as each angle is told from their perspective, the truth behind what is happening is pieced together. stuff that's happening suddenly makes sense.
i particularly love this movie for the following scenes :

• when matt was tearing down the pictures in his room when he thought lisa left him. that was one tearful moment cause it showed how guys can be vulnerable to hurt and cry about it.
• the confrontation scene between matt and alex at the restaurant with words being said like : "when you see something from afar, you develop a fantasy. but when you see it up close, 9 times out of 10, you wish you hadn't." "love makes you do crazy things, insane things. things in a million years you'd never see yourself do. but there you are doing them ... can't help it."
• and lastly, the airport scene is the best scene of all. this is probably one of the best endings of a movie that i've seen. matt's face when he finally saw lisa was priceless. i was teary-eyed the whole time (damn it! hahaha).

seeing "wicker park" made me believe in love again. that after the hurt of losing someone you dearly, dearly love, you can find it again even after a long time. fate brings you back together. i guess i'm still a romantic fool after all.

bitten

after happily receiving a foot spa at fitness first last night, i drove home satisfied that my feet were silky soft and smooth. when i got home and went down to open the gate, the evil dog i think accidentally grazed my left foot with either its claws or its teeth. i had a very small puncture wound which i thorougly washed and diligently placed some alcohol.

as a precaution, i went to asian hospital to have it checked. they told me to go to RITM instead and it was there that i got injections for anti-tetanus and anti-rabies. it was a freakin good thing i got some money before i went there because the medicines for the injections were so expensive. i got 5 injections today some of which actually hurt - ouch! and 2 injections on the skin to test if i was allergic to the medicines.

i need 3 more injections for day 3, day 7 and day 30. its the day 30 that i'm having problems with since that is feb1 and i'm supposed to leave on jan14. so if i can't get anybody in the US to administer the injection then i will have to pushout the trip. bummer.

i hate dogs.